Cuomo demands Trump acknowledge evils of white supremacy

Staff reports

Published 11:45 am, Sunday, August 13, 2017

Photo: HIROKO MASUIKE

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FILE -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo talks about improvement plans for Penn Station and the subway system May 23, 2017. Cuomo put out an online petition Sunday, Aug. 13, 2107 demanding President Donald Trump condemn white supremacy and acknowledge that it is domestic terrorism. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT182 less

FILE -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo talks about improvement plans for Penn Station and the subway system May 23, 2017. Cuomo put out an online petition Sunday, Aug. 13, 2107 demanding President Donald Trump ... more

Photo: HIROKO MASUIKE

Cuomo demands Trump acknowledge evils of white supremacy

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo posted an online petition Sunday asking people to "demand" President Donald Trump condemn white supremacy and the neo-Nazi movement, and acknowledge that it is domestic terrorism.

"After the deadly and ugly events in Charlottesville ‎I am calling on President Trump to clearly and unequivocally condemn and denounce the violent protest organized by white supremacists and neo-Nazis including Richard Spencer and Jason Kessler, with support from David Duke," Cuomo wrote in his online statement posted Sunday.

"Mr. Trump must immediately call this what it is - no cover, no euphemisms. This was a terror attack by white supremacists."

The statement was unusual one by the governor, as he has routinely commented on how he feels about Trump administration policies like immigration − but rarely has used Trump's name or called the president out personally.

"Join me in signing a petition demanding that President Trump acknowledges this hate for what it is: Domestic terrorism willfully perpetrated by white supremacists," Cuomo's statement read.

"Let's remind him - the hate and violence in Charlottesville had only one side, and it has no place."